Hotter Shoes: I'm On The Hotter Bus, Beep Beep!

Sunday, 15 May 2016

I was recently invited to a local bloggers’ event at Hotter Shoes
in Aberdeen. Hotter is a British company that has been going strong since 1959 after initially starting out making slippers (and they still make amazingly comfy looking moccasin slippers, I was eyeing them up!), and branching out into shoes.

They make much of the product line in the U.K. at a large factory with a dedicated customer service team. The
ethos behind the brand is to create shoes that are above all comfortable, and
of very high quality materials.

In the presentation we were told about the brand’s
increasing efforts to reach younger women with their ever growing range of styles. They have expanded their store presence in the U.K. from 5 to 80(!) stores in the past six years, so chances are good there is a shop near you.

To be honest I didn’t have much of a preconception of the
brand, not being from Britain originally. With my fallen arches and heel pain I am always
on the lookout for cute, supportive shoes that won’t leave my feet in agony. I
live in a city and walk pretty much everywhere, so this is extra important for
me.

I was amazed at how lightweight the men’s dress shoes were
in particular, as well as the women's of course, and all Hotter shoes come with comfortable, designed by the brand
insoles, which contain “millions of air bubbles”. Interesting!

We were told about how everyone who tries Hotter shoes for
the first time has what they like to call a “Hotter Moment.” This being a
moment that your feet will thank you for. We were generously allowed to pick out a
pair of shoes, and Hotter have a great selection of choices for summer. They
had some lovely sandals and pretty plimsolls in lots of different colours and
prints, as well as some cute vintage looking heels and a great selection of
trainers (sneakers ;-).

Hotter are one of the few brands that carry half sizes in
the U.K., which I personally am excited about as I have half sized feet
generally. They also sell in the U.S., I’m
not exactly sure how shipping and things work but their website is also set up for international shipping as well.

So my feet were their usual problematic selves when it came
time to try on shoes, I think some of the Hotter lines run a tiny bit wide. They do a range of widths in some lines, but no narrow width that I am aware of, which is
great for lots of people, but not me - to be fair I struggle with most
brands with my ankles in particular just slipping out of most loafer or pump styles.

I didn’t want to cause too much of a fuss trying on every dress shoe in the shop, so I plumped for some really cute trainers – to be honest I mostly wear trainers anyway, so they were the most practical option, though I will definitely be heading back to check out their strappy sandals now that the weather is finally warming up a bit here!

My Leanne trainers have a cute 70's soccer cleats type look, I think anyway(!), and are super comfy to boot! They come in more colours too. I did have to size down a half size, and the staff in Hotter are all super helpful and determined to make sure your shoes fit perfectly.

My trainers are suede so I had to wait for a sunny day to
try them out, and I was amazed that after a decent walk, I forgot I was wearing
new shoes entirely, and my soles were feeling just fine too – so yes, I had my "Hotter Moment", and I will definitely be going back for more!

If anyone would like to try out Hotter Shoes for themselves I have
a voucher code for my readers – if you try them and like them then you might want to link up with @HotterShoes on Twitter
and Instagram for a chance to win ANOTHER pair with the hashtag #SummerOfStyle !

Just use the code "PPATEN" at checkout to receive £10 off any full priced pair of shoes.

T&Cs: You are entitled to £10 off the total order value of any full priced items in the Hotter range (excluding shoe care products and accessories) plus FREE delivery. Minimum order value £25. This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotional offer or on Sale or Factory Clearance items and gift vouchers. Expires 30/6/16

*My shoes were provided courtesy of Hotter shoes but all opinions are my own!

Dang, free shoes! Those do have a bit of a seventies vibe to them, with the color and little stripes, very cool looking! I have never heard of this brand before either, but there are some super cute styles online! I haven't bought any new shoes recently because its been "ugly shoe" season for too long (Birkenstocks anyone?), like why can't shoes be comfortable and cute? So I might have to try a pair of these!

I know they market to America via Sunday newspapers (I asked during the presentation) so I would hope their shipping rates are reasonable, let me know. Ha Birkenstocks are my go to summer sandal, they are ugly but oh so comfy!

Super cute! That is one thing I don't honestly understand how anyone could order online (unless they are familiar with the brand/fit/sizing) is shoes - the size and fit changes with just about every shoe I put on - am I the only one? When people ask "what size shoe do you wear, I'm all "um...." But I do like the looks of those, and the wideness for me would be a plus (I know it was a minus for you).

Thanks! At first I was kinda bummed because most of the bloggers were getting prettier shoes, but having shoes that are so comfy makes up for it. (Though tbh every single person has said their shoes are super comfy...). They measured me as a 6 1/2 (8 1/2 U.S., which I mean, I'm only ever an 8 1/2 in athletic sneaker because I like them a little big) but I ended up getting 5 1/2's so these shoes definitely run a bit big.

They look so comfy and cosy. I took my pair to London, and it worked perfectly for long city exploring walks. Find and connect with me, if we are not friends already:Bloglovin: https://www.bloglovin.com/blog...Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/igab...Twitter: https://twitter.com/igaberry1Website: https://www.igaberry.com

About Me

Hi! I'm Steff. I'm an American who lives in Scotland. Expect me to write about a little bit of everything! My most recent passion is body positivity and learning to embrace health at any size. I am a film/t.v. addict and cancer survivor so I write about that sometimes too...no niche yet found! :-)